1. The Social Studies Frameworks and Resource Toolkit
October 22, 2015
Brian Dowd

2. State Education Department Field Memo Issued March 2015 by Candace H
State Education Department Field Memo Issued March 2015 by Candace H. Shyer, Assistant Commissioner for Assessment, Standards & Curriculum
The content, skills, and social studies practices in the New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework must be built across grades K-12 for students to be successful on the social studies assessments required for a diploma.
Instruction in ELA modules that incorporate social studies topics does not replace instruction in social studies, particularly in the development of social studies practices.
All teachers of social studies in all grades should review the social studies practices, as well as the common core literacy skills for their courses, and incorporate them, along with content, into their instruction.”

3. The Social Studies Frameworks
Are anchored in:
the New York State Learning Standards for Social Studies (1998 standards)
History of United States and New York
World History
Geography
Economics
Civic, Citizenship and Government
the Common Core Standards for literacy and writing
NCSS C3 Framework for State Standards in Social Studies
The Frameworks are a consistent set of expectation for students across the state which assures every student is prepared to be an active citizen and ready for college and career.

4. The C3 Framework for State Standards in Social Studies*
Based on 3 foundations
Literacy through an integration of Common Core Learning Standards using unique disciplinary literacy in Civics, Economics, Geography and History
Civic Life – cornerstone of the new frameworks beginning in Kindergarten and culminating in 12th grade Participation in Government
The Inquiry Arch – set of interlocking and reinforcing ideas that feature four dimensions of informed inquiry
Developing questions and planning inquiries
Applying disciplinary concepts and tools
Evaluating sources and using evidence
Communicating conclusions and taking informed actions
* Senior editor of C3 is Dr. SG Grant, Dean of the School of Education , SUNY Binghamton. He headed the Inquiry writing for NYS Ed. Department

5. Contain 3 important shifts in Instructional Practice
The Frameworks
Contain 3 important shifts in Instructional Practice

6. Shift #1:Focus on Conceptual Understandings

7. Shift #2: Foster Student Inquiry, Collaboration and Informed Action

8. Shift #3: Integrate Content and Skills Purposefully

9. The Frameworks Contain
10 Unifying themes – introduced in Kindergarten and continuing through to grade 12
Individual Development and Cultural Identity (ID)
Development, Movement and Interaction of Culture (MOV)
Time, Continuity and Change (TCC)
Geography, Humans and the Environment (GEO)
Development and Transformation of Social Structures (SOC)
Power, Authority and Governance (GOV)
Civil Ideals and Practices (CIV)
Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems (ECO)
Science, Technology and Innovation (TECH)
Global Connections and Exchange (EXCH)

10. The Frameworks contain:
Six Social Studies Practices:
Gathering, using and interpreting evidence
Chronological Reasoning and causation
Comparison and Contextualization
Geographic Reasoning
Economics and Economic Systems
Civic participation

11. The Frameworks Set-Up:
8-10 Key ideas (per grade level): Aligned to the standards and represent enduring understandings that should be the focus of teaching and learning at each grade. Designed to address large social studies perspectives, trends or issues.
2-7 Conceptual Understandings (per key idea): More specific statements that support the Key ideas. Together the key idea and conceptual understanding represent the body of Social Studies concepts that should be the focus of teaching and learning
Content Specifications: Identify specific social studies content – “The students will” articulates specifically what must be taught for each conceptual understanding.
The content specification work in tandem with the conceptual understanding to support the key idea.

12. How to Read the Frameworks

13. New York State Social Studies Content Sequence K-12

14. Caution regarding the Content Sequence
Although the 2014 content sequence appears to be exactly the same as the 1998 sequence what is incorporated within the sequence, and the method of approach has changed. It behooves everyone to sit with their current scope and sequence and the new framework to identify where the changes have been made. Failure to change the basic approach will make use of the Resource Toolkit frustrating.

15. The Social Studies Resource Toolkit

17. 3 Parts of an Inquiry Questions – Compelling and Supporting Compelling
Sets the opening frame of the inquiry
Expresses the intellectual rigor and student relevance of an inquiry
Sets up the summative performance task
Are not Essential Questions
Essential Questions have the connotation about designing the “right” question for all students in all classrooms
Compelling questions are designed with the students in a particular classroom in mind
Supporting
Contribute to the understanding of Compelling Questions
Focus on descriptions, definitions and processes

18. Tasks Tasks are demonstrations of student understanding
Tasks are not instructional strategies
Tasks in the IDM
Summative Performance Tasks
Formative Performance Tasks
Additional Performance Tasks
Staging the Compelling Question
Summative Extensions/Adaptations
Taking Informed Action

19. Sources What are Sources? What makes a source disciplinary?
Any material that provides information useful in answering a question
Three characteristics
Information contained in the source
Composition of the source
Perspective or bias of the source
What makes a source disciplinary?
Sources are disciplinary when they have features that are distinctive within the discipline and when using them requires processes unique within the discipline
Political Science- legislation – evaluating public policy
Economics – data and stats –quantitative reasoning
Geography – maps - spatial reasoning
History – oral history and diaries – determining perspective
What is the relationship between sources and tasks?
IDM tasks are anchored by sources
Sources and tasks must work in tandem

20. The instructional Use of Sources
Sources can be used to
Spark curiosity
Build knowledge
Construct arguments
Preparing Sources for use in an Inquiry
When planning to use sources in an inquiry teachers should consider the following
Selecting sources – requires knowledge of content - where can they be found?
Adapting Sources – Excerpting, Annotating, Modifying
Scaffolding- provide support for complex academic work

21. Conceptual Foundations of the IDM
Inquiries begin with a question:
at the heart of social studies is the drive to find out why people do what they do
no social issue can be address through a single disciplinary lens. The approach of the Toolkit is to frame grade level inquiries around the social studies frameworks.
The compelling question in each inquiry addresses key issues and topics found in and across social sciences. Compelling questions should always address interests that are relevant to students lives.
The IDM (Inquiry Design Model) found in the toolkit features a compelling question and the elements necessary to support the students as they address the question.
Each of these elements is represented on the first page, or blueprint of the inquiry. Crafting compelling questions and the other elements can be challenging but doing so puts the students in the middle of authentic inquiries rather that a series of fact based curriculum units.

22. IDM Blueprint Toolkit Element Purpose Compelling question
Frames the unit of study
Staging the compelling question
Builds student interest
Supporting questions
Develop the key content
Formative performance tasks
Demonstrate emergent understandings
Featured sources
Provide opportunities to generate curiosity, build knowledge, and construct arguments
Summative performance task
Demonstrates evidence-based arguments
Extension activities
Provide options to the summative task
Taking informed action exercise
Offers opportunities for civic engagement

23. Inquiry topics and outcomes are grounded in the Frameworks: At the core of the toolkit project are two frameworks; the inquiry focused standard represented in the C3, and the content focused standards of the NY state framework.
The 84 inquiries in the toolkit reflect curriculum design in the C3 framework and their content presents content from the New York State Frameworks.
All of the inquiries are linked to Key Ideas, Conceptual understandings content specifications, and social studies practices.
While the inquiries align with the New York State Frameworks they are not intended to be comprehensive, nor are they intended to be a series of lesson plans. They are intended to serve as examples of ways in which content and skills can e addressed with students. They are typically designed to fit within 5-7 days.

24. Did the Roman Empire Fall? Did the Roman Empire Fall?
New York State Social Studies Framework Key Idea & Practices
9.3 CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS: EXPANSION, ACHIEVEMENT, DECLINE: Classical civilizations in Eurasia and Mesoamerica employed a variety of methods to expand and maintain control over vast territories. They developed lasting cultural achievements. Both internal and external forces led to the eventual decline of these empires.
Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence Chronological Reasoning and Causation
Staging the Compelling Question
Debate the extent to which mathematicians can predict the rise and fall of empires.
Supporting Question 1
Supporting Question 2
Supporting Question 3
Supporting Question 4
What made the Roman conquests an empire?
Why did the Roman Empire fall?
Was the Roman Empire’s fall an abrupt change?
To what extent did the Roman Empire transform?
Formative Performance Task
List and describe the characteristics and attributes of the Roman Empire.
Write a summary explaining accepted reasons for why Roman Empire fell.
Develop a claim supported by evidence about the extent to which the fall of Rome reflected swift and abrupt changes.
Develop a claim supported by evidence about the extent to which Rome slowly transformed rather than fell.
Featured Sources
Source A: Map of the Roman Empire at the height of its power
Source B: Synopsis of Rome: An Empire’s Story
Source C: Digital atlas of Roman and Medieval civilization
Source A: Excerpt from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Source B: “The Fall of Rome Reconsidered”
Source C: “What Led to the Fall of the Roman Empire”
Source A: Excerpt from The Fall of the Roman Empire
Source B: Excerpt from The Historical Problem of the Fall of Rome
Source C: Excerpt from “The End of the Roman Empire”
Source A: Excerpt from Roman Realities
Source B: Excerpt from “The Myth of ‘Decline and Fall’”
Source C: Excerpt from “The Vanishing Paradigm of the Fall of Rome”
Did the Roman Empire Fall?
New York State Social Studies Framework Key Idea & Practices
9.3 CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS: EXPANSION, ACHIEVEMENT, DECLINE: Classical civilizations in Eurasia and Mesoamerica employed a variety of methods to expand and maintain control over vast territories. They developed lasting cultural achievements. Both internal and external forces led to the eventual decline of these empires.
Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence Chronological Reasoning and Causation
Staging the Compelling Question
Debate the extent to which mathematicians can predict the rise and fall of empires.
Summative Performance Task
ARGUMENT Did the Roman Empire fall? Construct an argument (e.g., detailed outline, poster, essay) that addresses the compelling question using specific claims and relevant evidence from contemporary and historical sources while acknowledging competing views.
EXTENSION Examine a textbook description of the fall of the Roman Empire and either write a revision or explain why it is wholly accurate.
Taking Informed Action
UNDERSTAND Research and discuss the ways in which the United States is an empire.
ASSESS Determine the state of the United States’ empire and whether it is rising or falling.
ACT Invite a local expert (e.g., scholar, political scientist, anthropologist, politician) to lead a panel discussion by students on the international status of the United States.

25. Disciplinary knowledge and skills are integrated within an investigation: Long debated in social studies the question of whether to focus on content and conceptual knowledge or skills has been answered in both the C3 Framework and the NY Social Studies Framework – good teaching focuses on both.
Students are active learners within the inquiry: All students despite difference in ability can participate in the questions and tasks of an inquiry. To support students of varying ability the toolkit includes suggestions on how to created language-focused scaffolds, vocabulary guides, and other instructional tools to support all students become successful.
Central to a rich social studies experience is the capacity for developing questions that can frame and advance an inquiry. These questions come in two forms compelling and supporting.

26. The purpose of assessment is learning:
IDM features both formative and summative performance tasks and these provide assessments for instructional purposes and evaluation.
The formative tasks reflect the inquiries supporting questions and provide opportunity for the students to build their content knowledge and their social studies skills.
A formative tasks offers the teacher a snapshot of their students progress so they can modify the instructional plan accordingly.
The summative task is ties to the compelling question and asks the students to construct an evidence based argument in response.
These tasks threaded throughout the inquiry provide teachers with multiple opportunities to evaluate what their students are able to do.
The summative task acts as a convergent assignment. The formative tasks are scaffolded in such a way that the students knowledge and skills converge in the construction of an evidence based argument that responds to the compelling question.

27. Disciplinary sources are the building blocks of an inquiry: The internet can be a useful resource for teachers to find primary and secondary sources. Access presents students a great opportunity to explore the content behind a compelling question.
Not all sources are equally valuable and the students will need guidance from the teacher. Teachers need to help the students understand that every source reflects a perspective and represent the bias of their producer.
The IDM embraces the use of multiple sources, sources an be used for three distinct purposes:
to generate student curiosity and interest in the topic,
to build a student’s content knowledge, and
to help students construct and support their argument related to the compelling question.

28. Students need opportunities to practice engaged citizenship: One of the key dimensions of the C3 framework and the New York State Social Studies Framework is the idea of taking informed action.
Informed action can take numerous forms. The key to informed action is that the students are informed. The IDM stages informed actions tasks such that the students build their knowledge and understanding of an issue before engaging in an social action.
In most of the inquiries taking Informed Action tasks are offered as additional instructional opportuntities after students have completed the summative performance task.

29. Social Studies shares the responsibility for literacy: The P-12 common Core Learning Standards for ELA and Literacy encourage SS teacher to integrate literacy . The inquiries in social studies involved sophisticated literacy skills; ask and answer questions, write speak and listen. Inquiries also require unique disciplinary skills that enable students to work with sources goals and practices into their instruction. Common Core literacy skills surface in three ways through the inquiries
1. the writers embedded specific reading, writing, speaking and listening skills throughout the inquiries
2. the way in which literacy skills are referenced is through the chart at the end of the annotated inquiry that lists specific skills along with examples
3. research opportunities, implicit in all inquiries are noted to demonstrate how they might be incorporated

30. Inquiries are not all inclusive: The use of the term inquiry in place of unit to describe the curriculum work is purposeful.
Inquiry, the creating and crafting of questions and the deliberated construction of responses to those questions can inspire deeper teaching and learning. Using inquiry for the curriculum topics portrayed reflects a conscious decision not to produce a fully comprehensible curriculum unit or module.
Teachers will find considerable guidance within the inquiry but will not find a complete set of individual lesson plans. Teachers teach best when they mold materials around the needs of their students.
Inquiries offer a curricular direction rather than an instructional script

31. Inquiries are best mediated by skilled teachers: key to the implementation of the toolkit is the belief that teacher expertise and experience are critical to rich classroom instruction.
The best pedagogical resources support and enable rather than undercut teachers instruction.

33. Grades K-4

34. Grades 5-8

35. Grades 9-12